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Why is ObamaCare for low income families, yet they still aren't affordable?

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Only $100? You're lucky. They want me to pay about $1000 per month before I receive any benefits and I've always been healthy, don't smoke, don't drink, no pre-existing conditions, etc. I only net about $16k a year, not like I'm rolling in money.

There is no context with your post. What plan? The SCLSP (2nd lowest Cost Silver Plan)? What is your income? What state? Do you have a spouse that has coverage through his employer, but himself only?

For myself, I used to be in a state that did not expand Medicaid, and with an income just barely over poverty ($11770/yr), I had to pay $19/mo for coverage, but that was with a plan that only had a $200 deductible outside of non-generic Rx.

I'm guessing, but it looks like for a single individual, a premium payment of $100/mo corresponds to about an income of $22K/yr. For a single person, that's about $19K/yr in a no-income-tax state, and no more than about $500/yr state tax otherwise, or about $1600 a month. For a single person, that's not really low income, although it certainly isn't a good middle-class income either.

Well that would really seem to defy explanations now wouldn't it. I have to admit too, that I thought the prices would be much much lower, although I was single when looking though and I know that makes a big difference. When I see what @swampwiz writes though, I cannot help but notice that a premium payment of 100.00/mo is something that I just did not see when I was looking.

Where are you getting good coverage for 100 dollars per person? If this is a non-employer plan this seems almost to good to be true. I would love to check into it. The idea is to get people who have no insurance cheap insurance. If it is working or not is a discussion for a different thread/day! :)

Good question, admike2016. I'd like to know this too. It certainly isn't from the official "healthcare" website. I don't have insurance. They have made it too difficult and too expensive to afford. It's only these people with the higher incomes who don't seem to take issue with this. Obviously, they can afford it, but lower-income people can't.

Think about this: If someone has no insurance and needs to go to a doctor and it is going to cost them $1000, they probably will not go if they can't afford it. Okay, now you have them sign up for Obamacare and it costs them money, right? Regardless of how little the premiums may be, it still means they have less money than before. Since their insurance deductible is $6500 per year, that doctor visit is still $1000 out of their pocket, an amount they still do not have.

Insurance deductible must be figured into premiums for the actual monthly cost of insurance. Now, the lowest possible plan for myself was $468/month and a $6500 deductible, which comes to $12,116 per year or $1009/month. This is the reality of how much I'd have to spend BEFORE the policy chipped in one cent. Do they really expect a single person to spend $1000+ a month?

I'm not rich and I'm not dirt poor. I probably take home about $2000/month. $700 of this goes to rent, about $300 to utilities and I don't have a home phone nor cable television services, just Internet. I don't have a car payment because I can't afford a nice car. I still have to pay auto insurance, another $50. Since I support another adult child, food is easily $500/month. These alone leave me with about $450 a month. Am I to pay $468 a month to a "healthcare" plan that I will get zero benefit from?

This is just another big government tax. The people who bite the bullet and pay these ridiculous plans pay for those with better plans, the medium to wealthy folks who think this is great.

Still, wanting to obey the "laws", I tried to get a plan the first year this was put into place. I was told I could get this "assistance" deal that would lower my premium a lot. I viewed the whole thing as a tax because that's what it is. If you pay out and receive no benefit, it's a tax. I checked the plans on the website and the lowest possible one was about $9.25/month (with the crazy $6500 deductible). So I figured $9.25 a month was a reasonable amount of extortion money to pay to keep me "safe", so I signed up. Not wishing to have to think about this payment every month, I wanted it to be made automatically and was told I could do this from my checking account if I sent them a voided check and filled out a form, which I did.

So, you know what happened? They returned the check and said "Sorry, you can't have your premiums paid via automatic drafts until you have paid your balance in full".

Paid in full? What balance? This is a new account. How can I possibly have a balance? So I got no insurance. At the end of the year, I had to pay a fine when I did my taxes and they lied about this as well. Originally, it was supposed to be a flat fee of $95 but they changed it and made it a percentage of your annual gross income. Of course they would, so I paid the extortion money.

The next year, not wanting to pay the inflated extortion money again, I again went online and applied. Absolutely nothing in my situation had been altered and I chose the exact same plan as the previous year. This time it told me I did not qualify for assistance and would have to pay $468/month with a $6500 deductible. I immediately called their toll-free number and waited over an hour for a person who just said I didn't qualify for assistance. "Why?" I asked, "Nothing has changed with me."

They didn't know, but just kept insisting that I didn't qualify for assistance. So I told them right there to cancel the plan I had just signed up for. They gave this B.S. speech about how I would not be covered and blah blah blah and I hung up. I immediately went back to the website, signed up again and it tells me "Congratulations! You qualify for assistance." But now the extortion tax had crept up to about $30/month, far too much.

So I give up. I guess I'll just keep having to pay the extortion money at the end of the year until hopefully someone intelligent gets into office and destroys this entire mess Obama and Hillary have enacted on us.

I would've had to pay $250 dollar a month for that crap. I'd rather save up my own money and use it for something else. The system is rigged, they will tell you that it's affordable, but it's not. It's meant to get more and more people on insurance, but it's not meant to be affordable in the long run.

It's probably affordable to some, but not for most, and that's what they won't share with you.

Exacly guy! Its affordable to those who make well above poverty. For those who are floating right above poverty, and raising families, its not affordable. I know we cant afford the $500 a month for health insurance that we will rarely use.

When it comes to the $100/month premium, it's interesting as we understand that once my husband turns 65, even though we are currently on State coverage, we will have to pay this out of pocket and be required to join the Medicare program. Once I turn 62, this won't be a problem as I too will be receiving SS; However, for about one year, unless I can find a good job, we will be living on less than $400/month after this deduction. As such, all I can say is "Thank God," California cares about it's seniors unlike many other states and while having expanding Medicare, also has great Social Services during these tight times.

I noticed many people posting are on limited income, I'm not sure how many know that when Obamacare went to effect, the income limits for State/Federal assistance plans also increased. As such, it might be good to look into these options on both health care and food assistance if/when needed. After all, that's what the plans are out there for - Now, when it comes to cheating the system, I am in no way supporting of such actions.

When I looked up insurance cost for me it was closer to 200-250 dollars, that is just to expensive for me personally. I end u just going to our town clinic with cost about 100 dollars a visit for anyone, I go about 3-4 times a year so I feel like it is a better fit for me.

Yes, I do this as well @abonnen , I go to the ER maybe twice a year or even my local clinic. I find that it is much cheaper over the year to pay those off, rather than may for insurance which is adding another bill every month, then I have to pay a deductable too each time I go. Its not worth it for me.